CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The newly sworn-in majority Labor government has this week begun the juggle that will define their next term in government.
In their successful efforts to claw back left-wing voters from the Greens, Labor has made bold commitments to climate action and Indigenous land groups throughout the duration of the 2025 Federal election campaign.
But Labor’s two-decade long Federal identity crisis remains. The party must have also bend to their supporters in both the trade union movement and the Western Australian state government who have a completely different idea of what Labor is supposed to stand for.
And sometimes this means rushing through the approval of a 40-year extension to Australia’s largest gas plant.
This comes as Labor’s newly appointed Environment Minister, Murray Watt, signs off on Woodside’s controversial North West Shelf extension in Western Australia’s Pilbara.
It appears that Labor waited until they had comprehensively defeated Peter Dutton’s right wing coalition, before they made the announcement that they plan do exactly what Peter Dutton would have done.
This decision has drawn passionate condemnation from conservationists and First Nations groups, who always knew this day was coming deep down, even after the announcement was twice delayed by former Minister Tanya Plibersek in Labor’s first term.
Environmentalists and climate change activists say that by taking the path of least resistance, the government is accelerating Australia’s descent into a climate crisis.
Indigenous grous have long argued Woodside’s industrial developments pose a threat to untouched lands and waterways of the Murujuga National Park on the Burrup Peninsula. This follows a dismal track record of mining and gas giants wilfully desecrating ancient rock art in Western Australia.
However, the Labor Government insists that allowing Woodside to extend gas production by another 40 years until 2070 isn’t that big of a deal, and has attempted to sooth the concerns of their left-wing voter base by insisting that this project will tick the necessary boxes required for giant multinational corporations who want to look like the good guys.
That is, the government will enforce mandatory Welcome To Country addresses before the drilling begins, and will insist that Woodside shows their commitment to the LGBTI community with rainbow coloured pamphlets in the mess hall break room during Pride Month.
